Cities must lead circular transition

That was the message from last week’s Local Renewables Conference in Freiburg and Basel.

As the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report made clear, a transformational change across all aspects of society is needed now to avert climate disaster. The IPCC paper states there are 12 years left to create the depth of change required to limit temperature increases to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels, as agreed by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“We must recognise how critical the situation is and act now. As the IPCC report states, the next twelve years are decisive for the ability of all of us – local and national governments, civil society, business, and indeed the public – to limit the impact of climate change,” said Wolfgang Teubner, ICLEI Europe Regional Director.

Part of the solution is shifting to a circular economy, and the Conference said there to accelerate this ‘there is a growing need to take advantage of renewable resources, including energy’.

“We know a lot about climate change, but knowledge is insufficient. Resource usage and waste production is actually increasing. We have to work swiftly and cities are well placed to lead the way – Freiburg aims to become a role model by becoming climate neutral by 2030,” said Martin Horn, Lord Mayor of the City of Freiburg.

The Local Renewables Conference aims to act as a catalyst to bring key stakeholders together: cities, national governments, investors and others to turn words into action, and fast. Read the event website for more.